Lieber Nature Preserve

I like visiting the same place in different seasons as the experience is so different in each part of the year. Pipewort Pond/Lieber Nature Preserve is close to our house, so it's a quick and easy, favorite place to get out for a short hike or nature exploration. It's actually one of the reasons I started the blog. We loved going to this place, but only found about a little more than a paragraph of information about it on the internet. I e-mailed the provided addresses, but found little useful information. I asked with Elkhart County Parks--they shared a little more information, but not much. I would LOVE a guided hike through the area, though we seem to be learning more about the area as we frequent the place. And . . . I find people who live near an area and are there often have so much to share about places in nature. They watch, they observe, they share experiences, compare and contrast, and look at the same place through the seasons. Here is our report from Winter.

The kids wanted to stay home with dad when I headed out late last week, so I had some time to myself.

I checked out the fuzzy coverings and leaf rebirth of the staghorn sumac.

The grass is green again. While we had a long start to spring, once it decided to hit, it emerged gracefully and quickly.

Other shrubs and trees have buds and are starting to open up.

Young, light green leaves are filling in many of the trees.

Other colors are filling in as well.

Walking down near the pond, I saw a huge bullfrog jump in the water.

The Canada geese were loud, honking back and forth to each other.

Black raspberry canes are getting their leaves. There are lots of these there! We have some in the yard, too. Looking forward to a better crop this year!

Violets were popping up . . .

There were sizable sections of Mayapples.

This was a neat looking snag . . . sculpture at its finest!

Garlic Mustard appears in nature preserves as well. It is getting taller and even flowering in some areas nearby.

I am curious as to what is going on with this tree. A few were removed since our winter jaunts. I need to stop by when I see one of the work trucks out at the preserve and ask a few questions.

Trees are filling in more and more with leaves. I look forward to seeing more upcoming changes!